A fanboy frenzy was set off late last week, when news of a possible 'Evil Dead 4' film came about, thanks to Sam Raimi's remark that he was planning on working on the script this summer with his brother, Ivan. Of course, everyone went nuts and immediately marked down a fourth 'Evil Dead' on their calendars. But now comes the part, predictably, where Raimi rains on our parade with a clarification.

However, all hope is not lost yet, fellow deadites.

The fellows at Bleeding Cool checked in with the director in order to clear matters up and not surprisingly, Raimi took a rather tentative stance in regards to resurrecting Ash.

Those guys made me say that. I am thinking about it but a crowd goes 'Come on Sam, do it!' so I said 'Okay, I guess I was talking to my brother about it.' But I feel like I was pushed into saying that, a little bit. In the hallway today I joked with Ivan 'Get working on that script!' but I really don’t know.

Seems like a bit of a stretch for Raimi to claim he was "pushed" into saying anything, when his comments were (reportedly), “I would love to make 'Evil Dead 4.' My brother and I plan to work on the script this summer.” That's more than just an, "Oh, I dunno, maybe, we'll see," but we understand Raimi's need to set the record straight. We don't want to start greasing our chainsaws prematurely.

However, Raimi certainly didn't throw a wet blanket on the possibility altogether. Quite the opposite; the director made it clear that, thanks to his own fondness for the 'Evil Dead' franchise and the omnipresent demand for a fourth installment, there's potentially still life in the horror series.

I was saying to Ivan 'Why do they stay on this thing? Why do they keep at it?' and he said 'They want to make a movie. You’re a filmmaker and your fans are asking you to make the movie. What are you, an idiot? Make the movie!' I guess there’s something I don’t see. It makes sense when Ivan says it… but I didn’t have a tremendous amount of passion until right now to bring to it.

I love working with Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert, I have so much fun making those movies, so… but the fans are really forcing me into it.

Raimi went on to admit that he didn't have anything else cooking at the moment (his latest, 'Oz, The Great and Powerful,' opens this week), and so 'Evil Dead 4' might receive some attention by virtue of that. As noted by my colleague last week, the box office success of the 'Evil Dead' remake could also end up swaying Raimi's decision either way, so let's wait until April before we allow our souls to be fully swallowed.